 "Ballon d'Dor: Full list of winners of prestigious award from 1956 to 2024")
The 68th Ballon d’Or Awards took place at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Monday, and to everyone’s surprise, Brazil and Real Madrid start Vinicius Jr was not adjudged the best player in men’s football in the previous season. This despite helping Los Blancos win LaLiga as well as the UEFA Champions League for a record-extending 15th time earlier this year.
Read | Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid boycott Ballon d’Or: How is the award winner chosen?
Instead, the coveted prize went to Manchester City midfielder Rodri , who not only helped the the Pep Guardiola-coached team win the Premier League for the eighth time overall and the fourth time on the trot, he was also part of the Spanish team that won the UEFA Euro earlier in July.
Vini finished second on the list and was followed by teammates Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal, while Rodri’s City teammate Erling Haaland, who currently is the leading goal-scorer in the Premier League, finished at the fifth spot.
Vini’s snub was met with outrage from reigning European champions Real Madrid, who boycotted the event in Paris on Tuesday in protest. Vini’s Madrid teammate Eduardo Camavinga labelled his snub as “football politics”.
Read | Ballon d'Or: Magnus Carlsen throws weight behind Vinicius Jr after Real Madrid forward's snub
“My brother you are the best player in the world and no award can say otherwise. Love you my bro,” Camavinga wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday that included a picture of him with Vini.
Argentina and Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or a total of eight times, the most by a player in award’s history, and finished second five times.
Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who represented top clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus and shared a fierce rivalry with Lionel Messi, is second on the list with five wins and six second-place finishes.
This year’s Ballon d’Or Awards incidentally was the first since 2003 to not include either Messi or Ronaldo in the nominees list.
Here’s the full list of Ballon d’Or recipients since the award was first presented by French magazine France Football in 1956 (Year, Player Name, Country, Club):
2024 – Rodri (Spain/Manchester City)
2023 – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Inter Miami)
2022 – Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid)
2021 – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain)
2020 – Not Awarded
2019 – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
2018 – Luka Modric (Croatia Real Madrid)
2017 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)
2016 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)
2015 – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
2014 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)
2013 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)
2012 – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
2011 – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
2010 – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
2009 – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
2008 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Manchester United)
2007 – Kaka (Brazil/Milan)
2006 – Fabio Cannavaro (Italy/Real Madrid)
2005 – Ronaldinho (Brazil/Barcelona)
2004 – Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine/Milan)
2003 – Pavel Nedved (Czechia/Juventus)
2002 – Ronaldo (Brazil/Real Madrid)
2001 – Michael Owen (England/Liverpool)
2000 – Luis Figo (Portugal/Real Madrid)
1999 – Rivaldo (Brazil/Barcelona)
1998 – Zinedine Zidane (France/Juventus)
1997 – Ronaldo (Brazil/Internazionale)
1996 – Matthias Sammer (Germany/Borussia Dortmund)
1995 – George Weah (Liberia/Milan)
1994 – Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria/Barcelona)
1993 – Roberto Baggio (Italy/Juventus)
1992 – Marco van Basten (Netherlands/Milan)
1991 – Jean-Pierre Papin (France/Marseille)
1990 – Lothar Matthaus (Germany/Internazionale)
1989 – Marco van Basten (Netherlands/Milan)
1988 – Marco van Basten (Netherlands/Milan)
1987 – Ruud Gullit (Netherlands/Milan)
1986 – Igor Belanov (Soviet Union/Dynamo Kyiv)
1985 – Michel Platini (France/Juventus)
1984 – Michel Platini (France/Juventus)
1983 – Michel Platini (France/Juventus)
1982 – Paolo Rossi (Italy/Juventus)
1981 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany/Bayern Munich)
1980 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany/Bayern Munich)
1979 – Kevin Keegan (England/Hamburg)
1978 – Kevin Keegan (England/Hamburg)
1977 – Allan Simonsen (Denmark/Borussia Monchengladbach)
1976 – Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany/Bayern Munich)
1975 – Oleg Blokhin (Soviet Union/Dynamo Kyiv)
1974 – Johan Cruyff (Netherlands/Barcelona)
1973 – Johan Cruyff (Netherlands/Barcelona)
1972 – Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany/Bayern Munich)
1971 – Johan Cruyff (Netherlands/Ajax)
1970 – Gerd Muller (West Germany/Bayern Munich)
1969 – Gianni Rivera (Italy/Milan)
1968 – George Best (Northern Ireland/Manchester United)
1967 – Florian Albert (Hungary/Ferencvárosi TC)
1966 – Bobby Charlton (England/Manchester United)
1965 – Eusebio (Portugal/Benfica)
1964 – Denis Law (Scotland/Manchester United)
1963 – Lev Yashin (Soviet Union/Dynamo Moscow)
1962 – Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia/Dukla Prague)
1961 – Omar Sívori (Italy/Juventus)
1960 – Luis Suarez (Spain/Barcelona)
1959 – Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina and Spain/Real Madrid)
1958 – Raymond Kopa (France/Real Madrid)
1957 – Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina and Spain/Real Madrid)
1956 – Stanley Matthews (England/Blackpool)
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